Prologue: Starry Shells
Dappled with sunlight, a lithe light grey tabby she-cat ran through the familiar land. She knew every scent, every plant or tree, every cat that had once or still was beside her. She passed by her camp, waving with her tail to say hello as she whisked passed, destined to find what she was looking for. ''I hope they're already there, ''she thought to herself as she ran past the oak trees, ''I don't feel like waiting for them. ''She passed by another set of oak trees and finally arrived at her destination. Three cats were already sitting by the carved stone, looking up as she sat beside them. "I'm surprised it took you this long." One of her Clanmates meowed calmly, gently licking her chest fur. "I wouldn't miss this for the world. We all know what's coming." The she-cat replied, gentle yet sharp in her own way. "Well, we should begin now. We cannot do this after dawn." The only tom, a black one, reminded them, pressing his nose onto the marble rock. "This isn't safe," the smallest out of the four, a brown-and-white she-cat said, sounding quite frightened. "You said so yourself, Moontail." Moontail sighed, putting her thick tail on the young cat's back. "I know, Specklepaw. But we must do this for the safety of the Clans. Not just WindClan, your own Clan." She paused. "All their lives depend on us. We know you can do it." Specklepaw gave a tiny nod, pressing her tiny brown nose up against the starry boulder. "Your turn, Brambleheart." The dark brown tom nodded, exhaling loudly. "I will always help ThunderClan." He pressed sharply against the now-glowing stone and bristled up his fur. Then Moontail, scared herself, took a big breath and did the same as the three cats around her. "I have missed you, Moontail." She opened her milky blue eyes and found herself surrounded by a familiar scent. It was her mate, Sparrowleaf's, scent! "Oh, Sparrowleaf. I have missed you too. Why have you come?" "For the reason why you have done the most dangerous thing in the history of StarClan." Sparrowleaf replied, walking out of the shadows. His pelt was nice and sleek, like a normal RiverClan cat. "I am here to show you where this cat comes from, and what she will do." "You mean, the chosen one?" She breathed. Sparrowleaf nodded, leading her through the lit yet dark forest. He passed a swamp and some twisted willow trees, halting at a mysterious stone, bigger than the rocks in each Clan camps and the Great Rock combined. Sparrowleaf scraped his thorn-sharp claws onto the rock, making a horrible screeching sound. Moontail plugged her ears until he took his claws off the boulder. "Why did you do that?" Sparrowleaf didn't reply, just began to gaze at where he scratched the rock. Then suddenly a whirling pool came from the claw marks. It erupted fast, and Sparrowleaf signaled for her to go in. "Are you crazy? I could drown in that!" But with one great push, Moontail splashed in, followed by her mate. She held her breath as he took her paw and swam down to the bottom of the river. It was still whirling, yet it had began to calm down. When they reached the bottom, he began to scratch on a shell, barely making a sound. Then the shell began to glow, and after a heartbeat Sparrowleaf swam into that, still having Moontail's paw. The world was blurred out by fog, but as it cleared it was still faint. "We are watching her. We are watching the chosen one." There was a puny little light grey she-cat perched in a tree, staring out into the forest. "StarClan chose a kittypet!" Moontail snarled when she noticed the collar. "Of course they did. This cat will bring so much health to the Clans, you will be glad we are sending her dreams." Sparrowleaf meowed. "What I just took you through was a sign we will be giving to her." He paused, and then spoke again, but darkly. "Something twisted will come out of the sky, shaking the ground and the souls of the Clan cats. To save them, a glowing shell will light the hearts and set out to find the cure."